New Normalcy

Hello everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about my blog, its just that I haven’t really had anything to blog about. As I started thinking about it more and more I realized that not having anything to blog about is kind of a blessing. I don’t have any huge news, and I am learning that that is ok. It means that life here is normal. Normalcy is something good for missionaries. It means I am past the “tourist” stage here. When I was at training with The Mission Society, we learned about the several stages of culture shock. The first stage is the “tourist” stage where everything is new and exciting. After that comes the rough patch, or the crisis period. When things start to become frustrating, fears arise, and feelings of loneliness replace the newness of it all. I don’t know if I am 100% in this stage, but there are definitely moments when these feelings come to mind. After the rough patch comes the adjustment stage. I don’t know if I am quite here yet because the fears and frustrations still linger, but I can say that I each day I am feeling more and more comfortable with life here. My room feels like my room and not just some place I am staying. I am more and more comfortable with the family I live with. My schedule has become a routine. And honestly I look forward to eating beans and rice everyday. Of course there are things I miss at home, and nothing here can replace those things, but everything here is becoming the new normal for me. Some of you have asked what my schedule is like so here is an overview of what normal is for me now:

Sunday: I teach Sunday school to the younger youth every other week and I also help with alter prayer every Sunday morning. I also usually spend time walking and talking with one of the youth who faces A LOT of challenges in life. This girl needs lots of pray for strength (you can call her Diane). I also get to “see” my family back home thanks to the wonders of technology.

Monday: I teach a beginner level English class in the church. This is one of my favorite things to do every week.

Tuesday: This is my “off” day. At night I go stay at the mission house (which is basically a house that is the center of operations) with Carlos and Karla (the pastors), Maria (church administrator), and Norma (a youth who leads the children’s ministry).

Wednesday: This is a day for prayer, meditation, relaxation, and planning. I also cook an “American” dessert every week to share with them.

Thursday: I teach an advanced English class in the church. This is a fun class because all the students are youth from the church.

Friday: This is probably the most challenging day for me. Every Friday night we go out in the streets to evangelize. We also spend time in the church praying for people we know to come to Christ.

Saturday: I start the day by going to the feria to buy the fruits and veggies for the week. Then in the afternoon I have a meeting with the youth leadership team. Then at night we have youth group.

Extra: Since I have free time during the day, I spend my time preparing for English classes and any lessons I teach. Something new is that I have come to love running here. I also help with any translation needs and random things in the church. One thing I have had to learn here is that idle time is not a sin, which is hard for a North American to learn.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what my normal life is like here. Each day frustrations become more minute and things that were so different when I first came are now ordinary. That’s not to say that I don’t have new challenges to face, but I know that which each new challenge comes new growth and new normals.